Any thoughts on children's tag along bikes

[bikerboy337]

Any advice from those that have them? My son is 5 and has been riding since 3 without training wheels, but we can't get more than 4 miles on a ride as he gets tired, so figure well get a tag along so we can get some longer and faster rides in. Have a trailer for my 2 year old but he's too big for that now (he's really tall).

Anyways, any advice as we look, any brands to avoid or must buys?

Scouring Craigslist now and see a for Adams trail a bikes so that's what I'm leaning towards


Thanks in advance

[christian]

Burley Piccolo by far the best.

I have a cheap Adams trail-a-bike I got used for $75. It's fine. Weighs about 400 lbs.

[DRZRM]

I have the "lighter" Adams Trail-a-Bike and it is pretty awful. That universal joint is very rickety (not unsafe, but it rocks back and forth) and it weights...a lot.

Do you have to be able to mount racks on your frame to use the Burly? Have the Adams on the Zanc CX bike now, sadly it is probably the bike currently seeing the most miles, but it is easy to pull the Trail-a-Bike and lock it at my kids school and squeeze in a bit of a training ride on the way home. No rack mounts on that bike, and I'd rather not be riding around with that whole structure if I don't have the trailer.

[christian]

Burley Piccolo requires a rackable bike and a permanent rack. That's why I didn't buy the one Happycampyer offered on here a few months ago.

[krhea]

Burley Piccolo. The safest system out there. It's worth it to purchase a cheap "dad" bike just to use this rack/tag-a-long system. No lean whatsoever, tracks right behind your bike to the point it can almost disappear behind you which is good, especially on climbs. The attachment system has a built in "safety" connection etc. Others don't compare. The 5speeds allow you to "teach" your child how gears work, hard/easy/flat/climbing. I found it an amazing tool which made my daughters switch from Piccolo to her own geared bike very easy.
Plus, at least here in Portland, you can always get exactly what you paid for it out of it when you sell it. We paid about $175 for ours, used it for 2.5yrs and sold it for $200 with folks waiting in line to purchase it.

[notoriousdjw]

The Piccolo seemed like the best of them but I just couldn't bring myself to buy one. It just seems like too much money for something aesthetically unpalatable and I still picture my child complaining about 4 miles in.

Another problem is that we have a 5 and 3 year-old and my wife isn't really keen on the idea of piloting a bike + pull-behind. So I went another direction and got a xtracycle cargo bike (edge runner) which we use a ton. It has the "family kit" which consists of a set of floorboards and grabrails (the "hooptie") to keep the kids from falling out or catching their feet in the spokes. It also has a centerstand to make loading and unloading easier.

Today, for instance, we rode down to the folklife festival and back. Later I carried both kids and a specialized 16" hotrock down to the bike trail where my 5 year old rode about 3 miles. Then we stopped by the playground and rode to dinner. All told I biked maybe 14 miles but when you're pulling 90lbs of stuff on a 50lb bike it makes for a decent workout.

[brando]

FollowMe

http://www.followmetandem.co.uk/followme-tandems/folllowme_tandem.php

How it works:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pzsmypwjV

But my current setup is a bike friday triple.

[brando]

Also have a xtracycle conversion but only ride the kids for short runs. But the storage is great for scooters, kid bikes, picnics, groceries. Also towing a dog trailer.

[Roger M]

Piccolo gets my vote. I've tried Adams, Novara, and a couple other generic brands. The only negative is having to buy another rack if you tow with more than one bike.

On a side note, my friend had a real close call coming down a nasty hill with his son. His brakes faded out. So he wanted brakes and a softer ride for his kid. He just finished this(still needs paint)

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff169/72tunaboat/IMG_20140522_131846_752-1.jpg

[notoriousdjw]

FollowMe

http://www.followmetandem.co.uk/followme-tandems/folllowme_tandem.php

How it works:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pzsmypwjV

But my current setup is a bike friday triple.

This is awesome! Your youtube link didn't work for me but this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr5_O1cFi8k) did.

[happycampyer]

FollowMe

http://www.followmetandem.co.uk/followme-tandems/folllowme_tandem.php

How it works:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pzsmypwjV

But my current setup is a bike friday triple.Wow! That looks great! As much as I liked the Piccolo (at one point we had 2, one for each daughter), I would definitely consider that. I didn't watch the video, but do you disable the brakes on the child's bike so that the child doesn't inadvertently hit the brakes when you're not expecting it?

[cetuximab]

It comes as a single kid or a double.
The recumbent seat uses a three point belt, so young kids won't fall off if they fall asleep or stop paying attention. Some friends of our pull their kid behind their tandem. They sometimes descend in the low 50s.
It using a small innocuous seat post hitch that you will not mind leaving on your bike.
http://rideweehoo.com/
We go to the park. We take it shopping. When I take the kids canoeing, we use it to run shuttle. (We canoe the Arkansas river)
http://m.rei.com/product/839312/weehoo-igo-pro-trailer-bike
REI has a single for 400. To get the double you have to order for the factory. They are made here in Colorado.
I just upgraded to the double. If anyone here in Colorado wants my single?

[djg]

Our three kids have long outgrown the trail-a-bike. I'd acknowledge all the criticisms -- it's very heavy and the coupling leaves something to be desired. If the kid leans off to the side the parent will feel it -- something you'll point out to your child, in a happy constructive way, many times. It's not a fabulously designed and crafted version of what it is -- not the Spectrum or Parlee or you-see-where-I'm-going of trailing bikes. The thing is, it works. You can attach it to a seat post (I used a separate seat post dedicated to the task -- had a saddle on it ready to go), sit a little kid on the seat, and go for a ride before your child is ready to ride with you on his or her own bike. We had some good fun with it.